Bummed

If somebody were to take the worst elements of 80's music (cheesy keys, gated drums, a dreadful moaning vocalist, all saturated in reverb and thinned waaaaay-the-fuck-out to a treble-y right hot mess) and mix it together, you'd have this album. Not for me.

I'm uhhh .. really BUMMED this album is something I had to hear before I die

The musical equivalent of licking doorknobs.

Sounds like what it is: mediocre, drug-addled, pop rock. Pretty boring, honestly. Ecstasy is not a good drug for making music, apparently.

I'm a sucker for psychedelia and funk. Throw in some electronic soon and I fall for it. Let's be fair. This is no Stone Roses. But it is still one of the defining albums of the short-lived Madchester movement, which became associated with early rave culture in the UK. And indeed you can dance to this. Now, a lot of people think it's dated. I personally don't get that vibe, and I think it holds more than as a product of its time. Did this album remind anyone else of Public Image Ltd? That being said, I do see many of the faults associated with the album. Maybe I have a twisted music taste, but I loved each of the tracks, each with a unique sound that kept things interesting. And that's enough for me to give it 4 stars. I don't have a favorite track, but Lazitis stood out for me (for sampling Ticket to Ride). Other tracks I really liked were Country Song, Mad Cyril, Performance, Brain Dead, Wrote for Luck, Do It Better, Hallelujah, and Rave On. That's half the album...

It wasn’t as good as ‘Pills n Thrills n Bellyaches’ but this album was useful to hear that blend of New Wave and electronic influences which became the Madchester sound. This album is heavily influenced by the talking heads, the smiths, and Lazyitis was very reminiscent of the Beatles’ Ticket to Ride. Overall a nice coherent transition album.

I had never heard of Happy Mondays and had zero expectations going in, but I really liked this album. It definitely sounds of a time, but in many ways sounds relevant today as well. Fat White Family seems like the closest modern contemporary. An unusual but catchy blend of dance and '80s pop rock, Bummed is great for repeat listens.

I enjoyed watching *24-Hour Party People* a lot. It was a film that was both hilarious and well-documented. But OK, once you had that good laugh at the movie version of the band, are you supposed to automatically become a fan of them? Some characters in the Sopranos make me laugh as well. Does that mean I should try to join the mafia? Let's just say that if I can appreciate the Happy Mondays "saga"--filled with drugs, stupid moves, and picturesque characters--that doesn't necessarily mean I'm a fan of their music. I even think that this band is probably one of the most overrated acts that has ever come out of Britain during the eighties. And I'm gonna tell you why now. I don't know if *Bummed* is their worst or "best" album, but frankly, why should I care? Everything supposedly "important" the Happy Mondays released is just a cheesefest sonically speaking anyway, not to mention a total bore songwriting-wise. Ecstasy-induced vocal meanderings over terribly linear tracks is not my idea of what a good song should sound like. And it's not my idea of a good time either, even if I'm in a quote-unquote "party mood". Worse, the nonsensical "arrangements" in those tracks make everything sound even *more* grating. And don't get me started on those horrid eighties gated drums... Now about the supposed critical status of this album, a little bit of translation for ya:  Writing for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis said "almost 20 years on, Bummed sounds extraordinary, but wildly abstruse". Petridis has good taste, generally speaking, but here he's being overly polite. What he really means by "extraordinary" is that the album doesn't make a shred of sense. And what he means by "abstruse" is just that : "abstruse". Priya Elan of NME felt the album "actually dated best" out of all of the band's releases, despite Hannett's "raw production show[ing] the Madchester sound in its infancy" Translation: *Bummed* is not as *downright horrible* as other HM albums but it's still horrid nonetheless. "Dating best" within a discography doesn't necessarily mean "dating WELL". All Music's Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised Hannett's production as "all smeared colors and harsh edges". Translation : it's a formless blob. He wrote that "decadence has rarely sounded as dangerous as it did in the hands of the Mondays". Er... Stephen, ever heard of a band called The Stooges? Or The Velvet Underground, maybe? It's probably a bit "niche" for you, i'll grant you that... Then Stephen describes the sound of the album as "stiff psychedelic funk". Is "stiff" your idea of a good time, Steve? And does such adjective go along well with the words "psychedelic" and "funk"? Later, Erlewine mentions  Ryder "spitting out rhymes", and then expanded on this, calling the album the "result of [a] copious intake of ecstasy". Okaaaay, then. Stephen's idea of a good time is to be bothered by a random drunk on X spitting on him at a dive bar. But to each their own, I guess. 🤷‍♂️ In other words, the critics know it's a pile of shit, but they sugarcoat it the best they can. In response, I can only show scorn at their obvious hypocrisy. 1 star for the purposes if this list, which translates to something around 3/10 or s/10 for more gneral purposes. (1+ whatever...). Next, *please*. Number of albums left to review: less than 400 (I've temporarily lost count here) Number of albums I'll include in my own list: half so far, approximately Number of albums I *might*  include: a quarter, approximately. Number of albums I'll never include: another quarter (including this one - many others are more important to me).

It’s no pills and thrills but I suspect a few were had in the making.

I may have blacked out as soon as this album started and came to with what I assumed was the same song still playing 30 minutes later.

I’ve kept coming back to this album for more than 30 years. It’s a complete mess from start to finish and sounds like it was recorded in a club toilet. But it’s also great in its own shambolic way. Shaun Ryder sings out of tune like no one’s listening and there’s something of the everyman in that, he’s not trying to be a rock star. He’s also a great lyricist. The way he uses the rhythms of ordinary (often sweary) language to express meaning and match the melody is extraordinary. For example, the lines from ‘Wrote For Luck’ about his lack of education: ‘I’ve not been trained, I can sit and stand and beg and roll over, I don’t read I just guess’. Ryder isn’t book smart and he can barely sing, but he’s very good with words. He was awarded the NME Godlike Genius award in 2000, and I know they give the award every year but there really is something preternaturally gifted about Shaun Ryder that justifies the genius label. Best song: Wrote For Luck

I feel like I had this idea years ago where you could mix punk and new wave styles with a psychedelic flow, but I never found something that hit its mark quite like this. Magazine by Magazine was pretty good, but it was more gothic than what I had in mind. This is a perfect blend of new wave and psychedelia. The lyrics are on point for a new wave album, but they are heavily based in psychedelic music in their tone. The cadence is very new wave, but the subjects range in a more psychedelic style than most new wave projects which I think is pretty daring. The instrumentation has a lot of contemporary aesthetics in the drums and guitars. The addition of the keys to be that 60s style is a choice that I really love since I can't get enough of that sound. Definitely a stranger album, but I think I will only like it more and more with age. Highlights: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.

weird sound but a few good songs

Unhappy Mondays is a more appropriate name for this group, and Bummed is how I feel after listening to them drone on and on. Apparently a lot drugs were used during the recording of this album, and under the influence of drugs is probably the best way to listen to this album.

I dropped out before the first song finished. This is rough.

I could tell I was gonna hate this within the first 10 seconds and the feeling never went away

Yeah I was pretty bummed when this came up. Terrible.

Belanglos, langweilig, überflüssig - mir gehen in Bezug auf die Platten in dieser Liste, die besser nicht aufgenommen worden wären, langsam die Adjektive aus.

Great 80's brit pop. Somewhat nostalgic sounds with Beatles tunes and an INXS feel to it all.

This really scratched an itch for new wave-influenced music with a funk bent. I think I’m also partial to slightly out of tune British rock singers

A big surprise how much I enjoyed this god damn!! I loved all the dance elements to this and ended up listening to all the bonus tracks and remixes on the deluxe version. also introduced me to paul oakenfold properly which is awesome, only knew him from a The Streets song reference lol

Chaotic fun, perfect soundtrack to my late 80s life

Total revelation. Never heard of these guys before. Why????

I didn't expect this to be good and was pleasantly surprised. Started off strong with a little bit of a lull but most of this album was really good.

Groovy

Enjoyable and catchy. Very listenable even on first play.

Tym razem tak wyspiarsko undergroundowy albumik, ze az zwiazany z manchesterem, bo wedlug wiki jest to gatunek zwany madchester, a czym jest ten oblakany czester, wiec jest to muzyka z pogranicza funka roka, na ktora powstanie miala wspolczesna scena rave, wiec rok 88 muzyka elektro i mordownie ekstazowo lsdowe menczesteru, takie jest wlasnie tlo tego albumiku, juz nawet teraz slysze, ze ciekawie musi to brzmiec jeszcze pod wplywem psychoaktywnoych substancji, syntezatorowe noisy jak na moving in with daja ciekawe efekty, dobry odsluch, bo nie slyszalem jeszcze czegos podobnego, ozywienie psychodelicznego rokowania w nowej orginalnej postaci, tutaj syntezatory klawiszowe, a zaraz ktos na sitarce robi solowke, przy czym wokalista sobie gwizda na wszystko, doslownie, a co do wokalu, to nie jest to spiewanie wyczynowe a raczej spiewanie psychodeliczne, wiec tez dosc specyficzne, widoczne jest wykorzystanie substancji podczas tworzenia tej plyty, ale o dziwo nie ucierpiala na tym produkcja, bo albumik jest jakosciowy jesli chodzi o mastering, sprawdzam kto tam to mixowal, a to pan Martin Hannett od joy division, wiec swiatowej klasy producent, liczynie jest to zabawa w narkotyki, glowny motyw, na plejaka leci wrote for luck, brain dead i country song, jak bedzie okazja trzeba przesluchac jak wypada reszta dyskografii bandy, albo raczej ich lidera Ryderowego, bo widze, ze sporo stuffu pod innymi bandami rowniez tworzyl

It's hard to separate Happy Mondays' music from the lore surrounding the band, particularly the infamous stories around their fourth album, which helped bankrupt Factory Records. Based on Bummed, it's puzzling how they even made it to a fourth release, or how their much sharper, lauded third album followed just two years later. Normally, I'm drawn to leftfield releases, but Bummed feels like it's pushing boundaries simply for the sake of it. The production is disjointed, the jangly guitar choices are grating, and Shaun Ryder’s vocals—typically a highlight—lack the impact you’d expect. This sounds like a band throwing things at the wall to see what sticks, and that chaotic approach is evident throughout. Ultimately, Bummed is an unfocused experiment best left behind. Give it a miss.

The problem with ecstasy is that it convinces untalented people that they're making good music.

This one was terrible. I could've lived happy without hearing the awful production with all the reverb and atrocious singing. I hope the person that mixed this album was inexperienced or had a really bad day. No one could make it intentionally this dreadful.

Woof. This was my second, and thankfully last Happy Mondays album on the list. I can't think of a single positive thing to say about this album. I didn't care for the vocals, lyrics, or music on this album. Nothing about this stood out to me at all, and it was a chore to get through. I'm really curious as to how either Happy Mondays album made it on this list.

I could have died happy never having hearing this. How it made this list I have no idea

1988 what a great year for discovering new music, with the Happy Mondays being one of the acts. I remember playing this to my unsuspecting colleagues, I loved it, they hated it, they loved Metal. They said nothing would come of the crap I listened to. A few years later I was redeemed. Well luckily for the world, Vince Clarke liked them enough to really launch their career with the remix of ‘Wrote for Luck’ and the rest is history. This is my favourite Mondays LP by a long way. A true masterpiece of Manchester sound. ‘Performance’ is a one hell of a song, but the album as a whole is pretty much perfect.

Love the Mondays

Mad

I don't think I've heard this band. I'm sure I would have passed right over this album if I saw it in the record store. The cover reminds me of Billie Holiday, just close up done in chalk. Solid late 80's new wave.

É como se o Clash e o New Order tivessem um filho.

Я послушал этот альбом сегодня вечером, с 9 до 10 часов. Я гулял по освещенным улицам города и изначально мое настроение было не очень хорошее, но я взял себе банку пива и хорошо прогулялся, слушая его. Весь этот альбом - будто ты сидишь за столиком около сцены и медленно попиваешь, слушая расслабленно-возбужденных музыкантов. Погружение в магию звуков, сливающихся воедино невероятным потоком, истинное наслаждение. Больше всего мне понравились эти песни: Hallelujah, создающая атмосферу всепоглащающего клуба, country song, каа прекрасное начало альбома, сразу цепляющая, moving in with, продолжающая дарить опьяняющее наслаждение и lazyitis, сыгранная с использованием, мне кажется, ситары, риф которой запомнится мне надолго и прямо сейчас играющий в голове. Мне просто хорошо, я прекрасно провел время благодаря этому альбому.

Ayyy Bez was on Pimp My Ride UK, cool guy

Wicked!

This was way better than I expected, despite the shitty prod and mix.

Kamalt El Hadra Ethenya M 3l Bouheli Mte3 Dostoevsky. I'm Better, Ahmed Still Needs Help. I'm Still Waiting For Calls

idk yet

Nick was loving it!

“Rock band does ecstasy and makes a psychedelic record” is such a trope but it almost always hits. This is a great example. I love how rough it is. It feels like constrained chaos.

Solid album. I guess this is what people raved to in the 80s. I heard some Oasis in this. There's another album from this genre by the band Flowered Up that I really liked. Otherwise I really don't know much about this whole scene.

I am really surprised by how much I enjoyed this album. It was like Devo on ecstasy. Personal enjoyment: 4/5 Relevance to this list: 3/5

Likably loose and raffish, vaguely Stones-like in that sense, with some plus-pleasurable moments and vibes, but no songs that take off or fully captivate. Much better – hookier, more compelling – was to come. Rounding up for that reason, to a very soft 4.

Headlong into #day34 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge... Or, rather headlong in slow motion because it's all about the vibe here. Happy Mondays... Even though I prefer Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches (the 2020 UK & EU vinyl reissue slams hard, by the way), I find Bummed to be an essential document of the Madchester era. It's nothing short of psychedelic, funky, ecstasy-driven sonic sluggishness. Agreed, it's not The Stone Roses or New Order circa Technique (and it shouldn't be), but there's something about the laid-back goofy nature of this record that you can't resist. Can you? I'm giving it a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day35.

pretty solid album here. in my opinion, it sort of starts off slow but does pick up towards and through the second half. at times it reminds me a little bit of REM and similar bands from that era. definitely has a college rock feel to it. solid production and solid instrumentation. i sort of wish i was wowed by it a bit more but i can see it as an album i would be interested in returning to at some point.

The guitar and especially the bass in this album is great and definitely the highlight! Everything else is not quite as good but still quality. Definitely an 80s feel with this album and it works well. Enjoyed and would listen to again.

i didn’t have particularly high expectations going into this album, having skimmed through the wikipedia page, but i was pleasantly surprised. it’s psychedelic sound, with prominent vocals, and simple yet effective riffs appealed to me, with each track being quite different from the one before. this early happy mondays work is, to me, quite different than any other britpop band releasing music at the time, something which i find quite refreshing. although i personally enjoy this sound a lot, i can imagine it’s possibly a “love or hate” situation, and only works for some people

Bam! Nice one oida!

Enjoyed the vibe, even if it was a little generic.

groovy

Excellent stuff

Bummed Happy Mondays definitely feel like a vibes band, a superb best of/greatest hits band rather than an albums band, so I’ve never really dived into their catalog, apart from listening to Thrills, Pills and Bellyaches a few times. I do love a lot of their songs though. Mad Cyril, Wrote for Luck and Lazyitis I’m pretty familiar with from the best of. Mad Cyril is very good, but Wrote for Luck I love, great groove, excellent song. Lazyitis is great as well, I guess they had to credit Lennon and McCartneyfor the nick. I’d never really made the connection before but I hear a lot of Talking Heads in this, which makes sense, both coming at a kind of white funk from a punk/new wave/diy angle. Country Song in particular feels very inspired by TH, I presume by The Big Country from More Songs about Buildings and Food. Just read Country Song was originally titled Some Cunt from Preston, as rhyming slang for Country and Western. Superb. The sound/production really grew on me with repeated listens. It sounds a bit smudged and spacey on first listen but I realised it really compliments the songs and the overall of vibe of wooziness and blurring of funk, punk, pop and house music. I do love his lyrics, they are very funny. Non sequiturs and dry observations mixed with a sense of humour is a great combo. It may be a bit patchy in places and feels like it might fall apart any second, but It’s such a fun listen, it’s got such a winning energy and that precariousness actually works in it’s favour, a bit like Exile era Stones. 4 may be high but its such an enjoyable listen it feels churlish to be parsimonious. Great stuff. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Stupidly enough I only listened to their Pills Thrills and Bellyaches, 100s of times. This one is almost as brilliant. Love the Manchester scene.

4/5. Ethereal and drug-filled, these songs create a great atmosphere. It feels like I am falling through a dream but it's not scary, but there is an existential dread through it all despite the upbeat major chords. Although it kind of flows all together, the jamming riffs and repetitive drums drowned in reverb and acid makes it actually sounds unique amongst the British rock-alikes. It's a good album to listen to front to back filling your ears with ecstasy. Best Song: Moving In With, Wrote For Luck, Country Song

This was an interesting listen. Another band I never heard of and probably should have. Fan of the era and would have probably followed for awhile.

Lekker hoor, wel beetje achtergrond muziek. Deuntjes blijven lang hetzelfde, maar prima tijdens het studeren

spacey Ken deze hele band ook niet Ja nice ik ben fan skrrtttt

Red volvo gem in there

I went into this with zero expectations. Into the first couple of songs I wasn't digging it, but after a while it strangely started to grow one me. It has a bit of "The Top" era The Cure in it along with some of The Fall's snark. Infectious in an indescribable way.

Weird, bit in a really good way. The music NFS lyrics are unique

Interesting listen, I enjoyed several of the songs and was intrigued by the mixture of "samples" or riffs from popular music like The Beatles and other much larger groups. Thourougly intrigued indeed. Good stuff.

favourite song: wrote for luck really enjoyed this but certainly not my favourite happy mondays album

Lekker Brits, ik ga dit wat vaker luisteren

so almost a 5!!

I first discovered Happy Mondays about a year and a half ago from this list with the album "Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches." It's become one of my favorites from 1001 Albums and as a result I started listening to this album too. I love the energy of this album. It's perfect for hyping yourself up before you go out or for rocking out while cooking. The music has such a cool style -- a little dance-y, a little druggy, a little chaotic, the drums are reverbed to the the max and the leader singer sounds absolutely wasted on every song -- I can't get enough of it. All of the layers in the songs make them sound huge. This is music that fills a room. I love the Beatles interpolation on "Lazyitis” too. 4.5

MH 1990, aðeins fyrir mína tíð. Missti alveg af þessu og veit ekkert hvernig ég hefði tekið á málinu sem stjórnandi á þessum tíma. Söngurinn er meh, en seiðandi taktur og endurtekin stef eru góð. Afar mikið reverb og smá echo skapa merkilega mikið pláss í lögunum. Bland í poka, en oft gaman.

Good tunes. It reminded me of INXS throughout it. It doesn't end how it started.

Solid post new wave, pre shoe gazer.

Makes me want to try ecstacy.

I liked this more than I remember liking it.

Being at the center of the universe always helps and, in the case of Happy Mondays, Manchester in 1988 was just the perfect place to be bummed. They just so happen to not only be on time but also rather early to the party and it shows with how uproarious and delightfully delirious the album sounds. This can take you by surprise if you let it, because it is awfully fun to have happen. Favorites: Moving in With, Mad Cyril, Fat Lady Wrestlers, Performance, Brain Dead, Wrote for Luck, Bring a Friend.

I always liked the Happy Mondays and this album has their distinctive style. It’s my kind of music and refreshingly different to lots of albums we’ve heard. I’m going 4* !!

Really good rocking album. 4 stars.

More interesting than a lot of 80s pop.

Surprisingly good. I didn’t have high expectations after the opening track, which isn’t the worst thing in the world, but a definite mess. It only got better from there, though, culminating in the great songs ‘Do It Better’ and ‘Lazyitis’. At those high points especially, it’s got such a layered sound and production. A nice, dense album overall.

Kinda post punk, kinda funky, kinda psychedelic Pretty enjoyable for a lot of it

This takes me back to the good ol' days!

This was a fun listening experience. I knew around half of the tracks really well from a "best of" album I owned in the 90s. The other half were almost entirely new to me. I can see why some people would be annoyed by the production, Shaun's vocals, or even the fact this music is very much "of it's time". None of these are problems for me in the slightest. I've always liked the stream of consciousness lyrics that Mr Ryder comes up with, the strange combination of alt-rock, psychedelia, and dance music. It was far from a perfect album, probably somewhere between a 3 and a 4 stars, but I'm going to hike it up to 4 stars for how original this was at the time.

7/10 fun album, easily forgettable, but still pretty good

I got late to the Happy Mondays party. I listened to them for the first time around 2016; their music grabbed me instantaneously. I watched the movie/documentary "24 hours party people," and the rest is history. Bummed is Happy Mondays at its core. It may be super dated, but the album brings great and stoned vibes that make your limbs move. Performance, Wrote for Luck, Brain Dead and Fat Lady Wrestlers are a must in this album. Press play and enjoy mate!

Probably the only album themed around the movie Performance

Great time. In some ways a warm up to pills n thrills but I can't get enough of the sound this band had. A great record.

Really enjoyed this. Kind of hard pop punk definitely from the 80s

Really enjoyed this, got me into exploring the Madchester genre. Close to a 5-star..

Very fun album. Favorite track: Mad Cyril

I really like Fat Lady Wrestlers.

Such an original and interesting piece of alternative. Mixes ‘70s punk with hint of ‘80s electronic. It feels like a precursor to something like Le Tigre. I’d never heard of this but enjoyed it quite a bit.

PREFS : Country Song, Performance, Brain Dead, Wrote For Luck, Bring a Friend, Do It Better, Lazy Itis MOINS PREF : Mad Cyril

Слушала его вчера фоном, как фоновая музыка он офигенный. Че-то бодренькое, слова повторяются, мелодии повторяются, нет никакого надрыва. Лайк.

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Do it better

Moving in With: Drum nya keren, rima kata di liriknya jga lucu. Aransemen lagunya juga trippy, mungkin krna dri penggunaan ekstasi & obat2an yg banyak waktu rekaman albumnya. Mad cyril: itu hammond organ kah? Boleh lah utk efeknya di lagu. Bring a friend: di saat tertentu, vokalnya out of time, tpi instrumental album nya ttp bikin formula nya bekerja, jdi ga kacau bgt. Lazyitis: Lgu yg ditulis jga dngan bantuan lirik dri Beatles - Ticket to Ride. Unik jga krna kyk dnger lgu Beatles tpi dimodif sama Happy Mondays

Love a bit of mondys

Sounds like The Smiths, Killing Joke, New Order and The Beatles put in a blender with a generous helping of coke and ecstasy sprinkled in

Never heard this album before. Pretty great all round

A great listen